Class: 8th Grade Science
Unit: Earth, Moon, and Sun: What they are and the roles they play. Topic: Looking at the Difference between distances and sizes of Earth, Moon, and Sun.
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson as a class we will be constructing a model of the Earth, Moon, and Sun that is of relative size. We will be doing this in order
to show the students that the model we use in the classroom is not even close to correct scale. This will show the students to pay attention to all details of not only models but drawing and graphs. When things are not to scale it can cause confusion. If I never tell the students that the objects used in the demonstration were not the right scale they would just think that they were right. This is why its important that we have this lesson to show them the correct scale and proportions.
Learning Performances:
After this lesson students should be able to:
- comprehend the size differences between the three objects and the distances between them.
- analyze a model and understand if it is to scale or not.
- apply what they have learned to other models and illustrations.
Standards or Benchmarks ESS2 (7-8) -8 Students demonstrate an understanding of temporal or positional relationships between or among the Earth, sun, and moon by … 8a using or creating a model of the Earth, sun and moon system to show rotation and revolution.
Materials Needed:
- Tape Measure
- A large field Time Required:
Two 50 minute periods:
First 50 minute period:
> 10 min - Introduction
> 40 min - Group Calculations and Discussion
Second 50 minute period:
> 5 min - remind students what we are doing and why its important
> 25 min - go outside and have class do demonstration
> 20 min - come back inside and discuss how the model we made and the model used in
class are different
Instructional Sequence:
Introduction:
- To begin this lesson I will ask the students how much bigger they think the Sun is then the Earth and how much bigger the Earth is then the Moon. I will ask them about the models and the drawings we made the day before and if we think they are accurate. After this I will tell them that today we are going to figure out just how much bigger the Sun is then the Earth and how much bigger the Earth is then the Moon. Then I will tell them that we will attempt to make a model that is to scale so we can see a proper representation of the planets together. To show them that this is important I will ask how many have ever used a map and if it had a scale. Hopefully they will have if not I will have a map to show them. I will explain we can read a map and see how to get from place to place but without a scale we would never know how far it actually was. We could start on a journey we think is a mile and it could actually be 10 miles.
Activity 1 (Day 1):
As a class we will go over the the findings that the students have brought in. I will have an overhead prepared that has a space for all the numbers I asked the students to find. As the students tell me what they have found I will write them in the spaces. I will then have a couple spaces for the volume of the Earth, Sun, and Moon and also spaces for the comparison of size and distances. I will then tell them that with my special calculator all I have to do is put in the numbers they found and it will give me those answers we seek. By doing this its still their work rather then them just giving me numbers and then watching me do all the calculations. After we have done this we will go over what we have found. I will ask them a couple questions: Why is it important that we figure out scales? What are some other things that must have a scale? I will tell them that in the next couple of days we will start talking about mass and gravity and size and distance have a great effect on both. They will be required to have all the findings and numbers in their notebooks. We will then talk about the scale we are going to use. Its is extremely difficult to have a scale that works perfectly but with them I will be using the scale that one foot equals the distance from the Earth to the Moon. In this scale the Earth will be 389 feet from the Sun and it will have to be a ball with radius ~1.8 feet and the Earths radius will have to be ~ 0.017 of foot. I will not be able to do a scale with the Moon because we just don't have the space large enough to have a model big enough to have a moon. Luckly there is a large field behind the school where we can do this. We must also pray that the weather is going to be good. When planning this lesson it would be wise to check the weather and plan around that. This lesson can be done before or after the gravity lesson so its flexible.
Activity 1 (Day 2):
As the students come in and we start class I will use this time to remind the students what we went over yesterday in class. I will quickly go over what the scale we are going to use is again and ask them to make some predictions as to whether or not they are going to be able to see the Earth from the Sun. Lastly before we go outside I will ask them one last time WHY???!!! are we doing this. Hopefully they will respond that we are trying to make a model that represents the correct size and distance comparisons between the three objects. I think that I will probably have to remind them but I think that this point needs to be beaten in because its truely the reason for the lesson.
Activity 2 (Day 2):
Outside the students we will begin by picking a centralized spot and that will be where the Sun is to stay. The students will be told that they are not allowed to leave this spot unless told by myself that they are allowed to. After we have picked the spot we will start measuring out the distance we have to go 389 ft so I will bring in a tape measure. Every twenty feet we will place a student so we can see that we have gone that far and we can make sure we are going in a straight line also this will help to keep the kids from getting bored and not paying attention to making the model. I won't show the student what I am using as the Earth until the very end of the line. Once we have measured out 389 feet I will take out the small ball bearing I will be using for the Earth. Hopefully this is kind of shocking to the students how small it is. I will bring something to place the small ball bearing on and have all the kids come back to the spot where the Sun is. I will ask anyone if they can see the Earth and I'm sure someone will say they can but I think most students will be surprised at how small it is. I will then tell them that it would be very difficult to see the Moon at this scale because it would be almost microscopic so I will show them how far from the earth it would be (1 ft.). We would then get everything and move back into the classroom.
Concluding the lesson (Day 2):
After we got back into the classroom I would give the students about five minutes to write down three or four things that really surprised them about the scale we had made. I would ask them if they had thought the Earth would be bigger or if the difference between the two distances was a surprise. After we did this we would discuss what the students wrote and why it is important to make good observations. I will ask them a couple questions that will set-up later lessons. I will say, "Wow! The Sun must be pretty hot to heat something so far away, how hot is it? Guess we will have to find that out. What about the seasons how can it be so much different in the summer and the winter if were that far away? From now on we are going to become space experts and find all these things out." Hopefully this will spark some real interest for the students. I will then ask once more why we did this and then ask what are some other things that people use scales for. They will then have to find one thing for homework that is done in scale and explain why this particular model or picture is done in scale.(i.e. a map or online rep. of something)
AssessingStudent Understanding:
Student will have to find something that is done in a certain scale an explain why it is important that it is done in scale. This will be a quick and formative assessment that I can tell whether the lesson was effective and meaningful.
Cautions:
- Taking the students outside and being careless can end bad. First thing I would do is to alert my department head and pricipal that I would be taking the kids outside. I would then ask around to see if any other teacher who had the period off wouldn't mind coming out with us just to have another pair of eyes outside. This isn't completely necessary but could prove to be helpful. Being well prepared when taking the students out of the classroom is a good idea.
- Students should be told to use the tape measure with extreme care because it's edges can be sharp and cause cuts.
Teaching Resources:
Ideas from Jay Fogleman
Rationale:
This lesson could prove to be extremely useful in introducing many idea's but it is also important because students see the small models all the time and never know the magnitude of the Sun and the distance difference. Having the students do this can make them see that all the pictures and models that they use may not always be completely true. That they should question certain things. It is a great visual representation of how much bigger the Sun is then the Earth.
Unit: Earth, Moon, and Sun: What they are and the roles they play.
Topic: Looking at the Difference between distances and sizes of Earth, Moon, and Sun.
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson as a class we will be constructing a model of the Earth, Moon, and Sun that is of relative size. We will be doing this in order
to show the students that the model we use in the classroom is not even close to correct scale. This will show the students to pay attention to all details of not only models but drawing and graphs. When things are not to scale it can cause confusion. If I never tell the students that the objects used in the demonstration were not the right scale they would just think that they were right. This is why its important that we have this lesson to show them the correct scale and proportions.
Learning Performances:
After this lesson students should be able to:
- comprehend the size differences between the three objects and the distances between them.
- analyze a model and understand if it is to scale or not.
- apply what they have learned to other models and illustrations.
Standards or Benchmarks
ESS2 (7-8) -8
Students demonstrate an understanding of temporal or positional relationships between or among the Earth, sun, and moon by …
8a using or creating a model of the Earth, sun and moon system to show rotation and revolution.
Materials Needed:
- Tape Measure
- A large field
Time Required:
Two 50 minute periods:
Instructional Sequence:
Introduction:
- To begin this lesson I will ask the students how much bigger they think the Sun is then the Earth and how much bigger the Earth is then the Moon. I will ask them about the models and the drawings we made the day before and if we think they are accurate. After this I will tell them that today we are going to figure out just how much bigger the Sun is then the Earth and how much bigger the Earth is then the Moon. Then I will tell them that we will attempt to make a model that is to scale so we can see a proper representation of the planets together. To show them that this is important I will ask how many have ever used a map and if it had a scale. Hopefully they will have if not I will have a map to show them. I will explain we can read a map and see how to get from place to place but without a scale we would never know how far it actually was. We could start on a journey we think is a mile and it could actually be 10 miles.
Activity 1 (Day 1):
As a class we will go over the the findings that the students have brought in. I will have an overhead prepared that has a space for all the numbers I asked the students to find. As the students tell me what they have found I will write them in the spaces. I will then have a couple spaces for the volume of the Earth, Sun, and Moon and also spaces for the comparison of size and distances. I will then tell them that with my special calculator all I have to do is put in the numbers they found and it will give me those answers we seek. By doing this its still their work rather then them just giving me numbers and then watching me do all the calculations. After we have done this we will go over what we have found. I will ask them a couple questions: Why is it important that we figure out scales? What are some other things that must have a scale? I will tell them that in the next couple of days we will start talking about mass and gravity and size and distance have a great effect on both. They will be required to have all the findings and numbers in their notebooks. We will then talk about the scale we are going to use. Its is extremely difficult to have a scale that works perfectly but with them I will be using the scale that one foot equals the distance from the Earth to the Moon. In this scale the Earth will be 389 feet from the Sun and it will have to be a ball with radius ~1.8 feet and the Earths radius will have to be ~ 0.017 of foot. I will not be able to do a scale with the Moon because we just don't have the space large enough to have a model big enough to have a moon. Luckly there is a large field behind the school where we can do this. We must also pray that the weather is going to be good. When planning this lesson it would be wise to check the weather and plan around that. This lesson can be done before or after the gravity lesson so its flexible.
Activity 1 (Day 2):
As the students come in and we start class I will use this time to remind the students what we went over yesterday in class. I will quickly go over what the scale we are going to use is again and ask them to make some predictions as to whether or not they are going to be able to see the Earth from the Sun. Lastly before we go outside I will ask them one last time WHY???!!! are we doing this. Hopefully they will respond that we are trying to make a model that represents the correct size and distance comparisons between the three objects. I think that I will probably have to remind them but I think that this point needs to be beaten in because its truely the reason for the lesson.
Activity 2 (Day 2):
Outside the students we will begin by picking a centralized spot and that will be where the Sun is to stay. The students will be told that they are not allowed to leave this spot unless told by myself that they are allowed to. After we have picked the spot we will start measuring out the distance we have to go 389 ft so I will bring in a tape measure. Every twenty feet we will place a student so we can see that we have gone that far and we can make sure we are going in a straight line also this will help to keep the kids from getting bored and not paying attention to making the model. I won't show the student what I am using as the Earth until the very end of the line. Once we have measured out 389 feet I will take out the small ball bearing I will be using for the Earth. Hopefully this is kind of shocking to the students how small it is. I will bring something to place the small ball bearing on and have all the kids come back to the spot where the Sun is. I will ask anyone if they can see the Earth and I'm sure someone will say they can but I think most students will be surprised at how small it is. I will then tell them that it would be very difficult to see the Moon at this scale because it would be almost microscopic so I will show them how far from the earth it would be (1 ft.). We would then get everything and move back into the classroom.
Concluding the lesson (Day 2):
After we got back into the classroom I would give the students about five minutes to write down three or four things that really surprised them about the scale we had made. I would ask them if they had thought the Earth would be bigger or if the difference between the two distances was a surprise. After we did this we would discuss what the students wrote and why it is important to make good observations. I will ask them a couple questions that will set-up later lessons. I will say, "Wow! The Sun must be pretty hot to heat something so far away, how hot is it? Guess we will have to find that out. What about the seasons how can it be so much different in the summer and the winter if were that far away? From now on we are going to become space experts and find all these things out." Hopefully this will spark some real interest for the students. I will then ask once more why we did this and then ask what are some other things that people use scales for. They will then have to find one thing for homework that is done in scale and explain why this particular model or picture is done in scale.(i.e. a map or online rep. of something)
Assessing Student Understanding:
Student will have to find something that is done in a certain scale an explain why it is important that it is done in scale. This will be a quick and formative assessment that I can tell whether the lesson was effective and meaningful.
Cautions:
- Taking the students outside and being careless can end bad. First thing I would do is to alert my department head and pricipal that I would be taking the kids outside. I would then ask around to see if any other teacher who had the period off wouldn't mind coming out with us just to have another pair of eyes outside. This isn't completely necessary but could prove to be helpful. Being well prepared when taking the students out of the classroom is a good idea.
- Students should be told to use the tape measure with extreme care because it's edges can be sharp and cause cuts.
Teaching Resources:
Ideas from Jay Fogleman
Rationale:
This lesson could prove to be extremely useful in introducing many idea's but it is also important because students see the small models all the time and never know the magnitude of the Sun and the distance difference. Having the students do this can make them see that all the pictures and models that they use may not always be completely true. That they should question certain things. It is a great visual representation of how much bigger the Sun is then the Earth.